Polymer Capital Management US LLC Acquires Shares of 23,600 Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)

Polymer Capital Management US LLC bought a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 23,600 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,155,000.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Eastman Chemical in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management lifted its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 62.3% during the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 323 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its stake in Eastman Chemical by 94.7% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 333 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 384.4% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 373 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Eastman Chemical during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.65% of the company’s stock.

Eastman Chemical Trading Down 5.6 %

Shares of Eastman Chemical stock opened at $75.48 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $94.76 and its 200 day moving average is $98.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.69 billion, a PE ratio of 9.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.43. Eastman Chemical has a 1 year low of $73.78 and a 1 year high of $114.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.27. Eastman Chemical had a net margin of 9.65% and a return on equity of 16.27%. Equities research analysts forecast that Eastman Chemical will post 8.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eastman Chemical Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.40%. Eastman Chemical’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EMN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Eastman Chemical from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Eastman Chemical from $124.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America raised shares of Eastman Chemical from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $115.00 to $109.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. KeyCorp increased their target price on Eastman Chemical from $121.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Mizuho raised shares of Eastman Chemical from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Eastman Chemical currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $112.83.

Eastman Chemical Profile

Eastman Chemical Company operates as a specialty materials company in the United States, China, and internationally. The company's Additives & Functional Products segment offers amine derivative-based building blocks, intermediates for surfactants, metam-based soil fumigants, and organic acid-based solutions; specialty coalescent and solvents, paint additives, and specialty polymers; and heat transfer and aviation fluids.